**Heroes Don't Kill.**
These words are familiar to anyone who has even a slight acquaintance with the world of pop culture or literature. For centuries, people have believed, and still believe, that a hero is a glorious man or woman in shining armor with a noble purpose.
I too pursued such goals when I was a child, naively believing that this was right and that killing is wrong. There is blood on my hands from three people, and all of them have taken lives and turned destinies into nightmares.
When I see a strange man in a jacket jumping from side to side, I have the sensation that this is some kind of game, not a battle. A girl filming me and a gray-haired man with a beard and luxurious mustache evoke a naive thought in me that they will film everything necessary and end this circus.
My thoughts are never meant to come true.
Jump after jump, Gentle deceived me, playing with me like a knight and a brigand. I changed positions, hiding behind concrete columns to ensure that no blow hit my back.
"Gentle Punch!" The blow landed on my torso in the rib area, causing me excruciating pain throughout my body. I grabbed my side with my right hand, continuing to observe Gentle's trajectory. My thoughts are constantly interrupted by a short, red-haired girl cheering on her boyfriend like a cheerleader.
"You just witnessed 'Gentle Punch', and even Phantom himself felt pain from our Gentle's attacks. COME ON, Gentle, YOU CAN WIN!" My concentration on the fight is constantly disrupted by her frantic screams. I grew tired of his movements, and in a moment I dodged his attack, followed by another, more unexpected strike.
"Gentle Sandwich!" A multitude of multilayered elastic barriers slammed into me from above like chunks of concrete. I tried to escape from his trap, but all I managed was minor resistance. My tendrils erupted from my body, trying to catch him, but he removed those barriers, shocking me, and seizing the opportunity, I rushed at him with my fists. He dodges my attacks skillfully and elegantly, as if he had rehearsed and analyzed each of my moves for this encounter.
Was he ready for this meeting?
Finally, I reached him. My fist was ready to meet his face, and the air near his face became flexible, as if I struck a rubber ball. He smirks at my attacks, but looking down, I realized that I was in his trap. At my feet stood a metallic disc, and before I could step back, I found myself trapped in a transparent energy barrier that closed around me.
"No, this cannot be my failure. Not like this, not in such an idiotic way!"
I hit the barrier and immediately felt pain from my own blow. It accumulates kinetic energy and directs it back to me, judging by its properties. What irritated me the most was that red-haired girl with the camera in her hands, who was filming everything, and her further comments aimed at me drove me and the symbiote insane.
"You were magnificent, LA Brava! If it weren't for you, this monster would have already defeated us!" Her name is LA Brava, and after his praise, her cheeks redden, and like a lovesick schoolgirl, she watches him with admiration.
"Behold how the magnanimous Gentle has defeated the particularly dangerous criminal Silent Phantom. The hero and the police couldn't catch him, and he fell into my trap like a wild beast that needs to be tamed!" Jumping with the camera in hand, she constantly throws scornful glances at me. Remembering how I became a laughingstock for people behind this mask, I never want to be ridiculed again.
"Kill them!" — a sinister voice echoed in my head. And what have they achieved? Just caught me and will keep me as a trophy?
"I refuse to be a laughingstock for anyone!"
"Symbiote Blast!" Tendrils erupted from all sides, but even that left no scratches on the barrier, and within seconds I hear their laughter filled with sarcasm and mockery.
"You can stop trying, Silent Phantom. It's as useless as your efforts. Breaking this is like trying to break a brick wall with bare hands!" Gentle scoffed, looking into my eyes. I have heard those words directed at me before and remember them well. It felt as if my past was challenging me, despite my newly acquired abilities. I promised never to return to the past and not to remember how worthless I was. I wasted too much time reflecting on my weakness, and now I will throw everything away and break this barrier, like an embodiment of my worst moments in life.
"Symbiote Charge!" Three strong blows still left no scratches, but with even greater pain in my hands. In response, only laughter and a camera flash from the girl. I was filled with anger and a desire to destroy the camera and gouge out those mocking eyes that are staring at me right now.
Each blow was accompanied by pain, as if fate itself commanded me to surrender. Further came only their mockery. The mask took on an even more terrifying appearance; the lenses became sharper, and the tendrils in my body began to writhe even more vigorously, trying to break free. My breath was coming in gasps, and my heartbeat was accelerating.
"Look at him, his face has changed!" — expressing her concern, she set the camera aside, seeing my furious gaze. Gentle continued to watch, as if a wild beast was performing in a circus.
"Don't worry, my dear, this barrier is unbreakable. Even professional heroes cannot break it, let alone a villain!"
"Symbiote Punch!" — absolutely nothing.
"Elbow Smash!" — also no damage.
"Symbiote Yank!" — nothing happened.
"Uppercut!" — even more damage was received.
My attacks on him had no effect. I was ready to give up and was about to kneel, but I heard more insistent voices in my head trying to break free.
This rage had accompanied me from the very beginning. My resentment, insecurity, and anger — all of it was trying to break free, and a sinister reply whispered before I roared like a wild beast.
"Everything can be broken, even you!"
"Rrrr!" My hands touched the barrier without taking my eyes off my enemies. In response, I still heard laughter and smelled the alcohol that drove me crazy with its disgusting stench.
"No matter how hard you try, it's all pointless!"
"Everything is pointless!"
"Everything is pointless!"
"Everything is pointless!"
The words echoed in my head.
"AAAAAA!!!"
"Rage mode!"
My scream shattered the silence like thunder in a clear sky. My tendrils erupted from my body, pulsing with the energy that had built up inside me. I felt how rage, resentment, and fury — everything I had held inside for years — burst forth.
Blow after blow, I felt pain; I didn't care about it. To kill was to destroy. The ground beneath my feet trembled, unable to withstand the monstrous blows. Like a primitive man, not sparing myself in my fury, I slammed my shoulder into the barrier, but there was no effect. The tendrils helped me, pushing, trying to break the barrier, but it all depended on me. Now they looked at me with fear, scared and terrified of me. I would reach them and catch them. They would regret playing with me.
"AAAAAA!!!" — with animalistic roars, I spat on everything, even on my own body, on all my bones; I felt the barrier weakening. It was designed to absorb the accumulated kinetic energy. I didn't care how many hits it would take; I would completely break it.
"Unworthy!!"
"Monster!"
"Deku!"
"Error!"
"We need to leave quickly, something's not right here!"
"Elbow Smash!" All my limbs, from knees to elbows, mixed in a hurricane of blows. I moved slowly towards my goal, feeling the cracks beginning to appear in the barrier.
The barrier started to crack like glass under pressure. Cracks spread across its surface like spiderwebs.
"Do you think I'm weak, ALLMIGHT?!" I growled, my voice filled with rage.
"Do you think I'm worthless?!"
"AAAAAAAGGRRR!!!" — a hundred tendrils erupted from my body, finally breaking that damn barrier. Shards of glass scattered into countless tiny pieces like a glass vase.
Hunched over, I looked at their shocked faces and finally saw fear and something more in their eyes. The hunter and the prey had changed places.
"Rrrrr!" — a growl escaped my lips, and my eyes were filled with blood as I saw their perfectly tailored clothes. The girl continued filming me. Enough of these childish games.
Pointing my hand at her, the tendrils instantly shot out from my hands, aiming at her. She wouldn't have time to react if it weren't for her boyfriend. Instead of her, I grabbed her camera and caught him.
My gaze turned to them, and to satisfy my animalistic nature, wanting to enjoy their confusion and loss, I threw the camera to the ground and crushed it under my foot with immense force, listening to the girl's displeasure.
"Hey, that camera costs 746,000¥ [5000$]. You will pay for that!!" — she screamed, but looking into my furious eyes, she fell silent out of fear, unable to utter a word. She looked at her boyfriend with concern.
"LA Brava, get out of here. I can handle him. The power of our love will crush him!" — Gentle proclaimed triumphantly, causing me to feel nauseated. All his words were disgusting, as if they were ripped from cheap soap operas and romance novels for the mentally challenged. But instead of leaving, she stood by him. I had no time to stand and watch their romance; I needed answers, and I needed them right now.
"Rrrr!" — I growled and lunged at them with my fists, but his damn quirk prevented me from inflicting pain. Like a force field, it stopped me, but digging my fingers into the field, I started tearing it and stretching it like some kind of jelly. The process was interrupted by his unexpected blow that knocked me out of consciousness for a few seconds.
"I won't leave you here. Without my love's power, you won't be able to defeat him!" — she stayed with him. Even better, she would see how her sorrowful lover would choke on his own blood.
"Then say those words, my dear." Seeing her love-struck eyes, I exhale, feeling hatred and disdain in an instant.
"I love you, Gentle!" — those words were followed by a strange pink aura enveloping Gentle. I didn't like this, and roaring like a beast, I charged into battle, but he didn't dodge my attacks; he accepted my fist in his palm, holding back all my strength.
"Remarkable," — I whispered to myself before becoming enraged, continuing to deliver blow after blow. He constantly utilized his quirk, jumping from side to side, throwing me off balance.
This annoyed me, and waiting for the moment, I seized his hand, squeezing it so hard that he groaned in pain, clenching his mouth to avoid screaming. I raised my fist to strike him, but his irritating quirk prevented me from doing so. My tendrils erupted from my back to grab his neck, but his reaction was also enhanced by her quirk. He quickly grabbed the tendril, and before I could react, he began spinning me like a carousel, smashing me into several concrete columns. With force, I slammed into a concrete column, not seeing how a concrete fragment fell on my back, causing pain. It hurt like hell, and until now, I had never faced an opponent equal to me.
"That's enough or should I add more?" — he smirked at me, still considering this a game. Through the pain, I stood up, looking him in the eyes. The lenses took on a sinister look, and inside me, I felt something wanting to break free and tear him into tiny pieces.
Assuming a fighting stance while growling, I ominously whispered, showing I was no longer willing to hold back against him. I lunged into battle, shooting several tendrils at him to grab him. He dodged them and caught one, hoping to catch me off guard. His hand, which grabbed my tendril, enveloped it, and realizing this, Andy threw him out of the building, shattering massive glass. As I expected, he used his quirk to return to the battlefield. Landing, he straightened up, shaking off his jacket and remaining in just a white shirt.
"That was sneaky, and for that, I will punish you to the fullest extent!" — he pointed at me, and without waiting for his further words, I slammed into him with all my might, knocking the breath out of him.
"I'm tired of playing your wedding games, freak!" — I grabbed him by the throat, seizing both of his hands with tendrils, not allowing him to use his quirk. La Brava, watching this spectacle, was genuinely terrified for her boyfriend and began throwing any trash at my back. I didn't feel them, but before me stood an equal opponent, and looking at him, another good idea came to me.
"Let's see how well you can fly!" — I headed for the broken window, knowing he would use his quirk, and I would make him regret his decision to mock me.
Removing the tendrils, I instantly broke all his fingers, causing him to scream like never before, frightening La Brava. She tried to get closer, but tendrils from my back erupted, pushing her back.
"AAAAAA!!! YOU MONSTER!" — I smirked, and where my mouth should be, sharp teeth began to appear. I glanced back at La Brava and, seeing my predatory gaze, she flinched, falling to her knees from the horror unfolding before her eyes.
Writhing in pain, Gentle tried to hit me with his broken fingers, but all I felt was pity for this man. Grabbing him by the arms, I held him so he could see the abyss and the vast distance between us and the ground. I growled threateningly at him, and my teeth began to show even more.
"You can't kill me. You're a hero, and heroes don't kill!" — he looked at me pleadingly before realizing my malicious smirk.
"Who said I'm a hero?" — his eyes widened before he realized he had lost this battle.
"Don't do it. I have love!!" — I pondered his words for a moment before releasing him. With a deafening scream, he fell to the ground.
"NOOOOOO!!!!" — she screamed at me, trying to hit me and inflict some damage, but she couldn't do anything. Tendrils shot out from my hands, catching him mid-air and breaking his leg.
"And now you're the main course!" — she was frightened by my voice and stepped back a few paces, realizing that the same fate awaited her. Catching Gentle, I hurled him back with all my strength, throwing him into a concrete column, breaking a few of his teeth and painting his face a crimson red. I needed more than just his suffering; they better regret deciding to take revenge on me.
With a bloodied face, Gentle looked at her before saying one word.
"Run!" She fled towards the exit, realizing her predicament and crying, unable to help her beloved. I grabbed a concrete column and hurled it at her, but she managed to escape, and my throw only damaged the doorframe.
"I said go!!!" — filled with rage and disappointment, I began to beat Gentle until his face was covered in bruises and contusions. His clothes were completely ruined, and his face was bloodied, but he was still breathing.
I clutched my stomach, feeling pain throughout my body. Something was wrong. Pain exploded through my body, and my form began to increase in size, taking on a monstrous shape. The tips of my fingers turned into sharp claws, my mouth opened wide, and my eyes took on an even more sinister hue with a slightly gaunt appearance.
Gentle, seeing me, opened his eyes in terror, trying to escape.
"She won't escape!" — a sinister voice escaped me, something comparable to a howl of a monster.
How do I return to normal?
"GET BACK HERE, LA BRAVA!!" — I roared at the top of my lungs in my monstrous form, grabbing her lover by the leg. Kicking down the door, I approached the staircase and heard her rushing up the steps.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME, I'LL CHASE YOU TO THE END OF THE EEEAAAARTHHH!!!" — pulsing pain echoed throughout my body. The symbiote moaned inside me, either from pleasure or from overexertion. Gentle lay motionless, barely breathing. His once pristine white shirt was soaked in blood, and his barely recognizable facial features were submerged in crimson stains.
Inside me, rage still raged, but along with it came satisfaction. I had broken him. I shattered his pride. I forced his little girlfriend to flee, leaving him here in this ruined place, alone with me.
"Well, hero? Where are your loud speeches? Where are your flashy jumps?" — I leaned down before him, smirking.
"Doesn't love help?"
He tries to say something, but only a muffled gasp escapes his lips. His lips tremble, his eyes, half-bloodshot, look at me with pain and… hope?
"Do you think someone will save you?" — my face got closer to his.
"Do you think heroes will burst in here and save your worthless life?"
He blinks slowly, his breath quickening.
"...La Brava..." — a weak, barely audible whisper.
I feel rage rising within me again.
"You're still thinking about her?" — I hiss, squeezing his throat.
"Even now, when you can do nothing? You hope she'll come back for you?"
"Don't touch her!" — he pleaded, but it gave me pleasure as his gasps transformed into something weaker.
I threw Gentle to the ground, his lifeless body fell on the concrete, leaving a bloody trail. My monstrous body pulsed with rage, each step accompanied by a loud thud echoing through the ruined building. La Brava was somewhere here, and I knew she wouldn't be able to escape.
"LA BRAAAAVAAAA!!!" — my voice was low and ominous, like thunder breaking the silence.
I moved forward, my claws scratching the walls, leaving deep grooves. My breath was heavy, like a beast ready to hunt. I felt her fear, her panic. She was close.
"Do you think you can escape?!" — I roared, my voice filled with rage.
"Do you think you can hide from me?!" I heard a faint whimper from around the corner. She was there. I slowly approached, my steps heavy like the blows of a hammer.
"Please… stop…" — her voice trembled like a child afraid of the dark.
I stepped around the corner and saw her. She pressed against the wall, her red hair tousled, and her eyes were filled with tears. She trembled like a leaf in the wind, looking at me in horror.
"Do you think you can just walk away?" — I whispered, my voice cold as ice.
"Do you think you can just leave him and run away?" She tried to move back, but behind her was a wall. She was trapped.
"Please… I… I didn't want to…" — she whispered, her voice filled with fear.
"Didn't want to?" — I growled, my voice filled with rage.
"You filmed all of this! You mocked me! You thought it was a game?!" — I grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air. She was gasping for breath, her legs dangling in the air.
"Do you think you can just walk away?!" — I shouted, my voice filled with rage.
"Please… I… I'll do whatever you say…" — she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
I paused for a moment, looking at her. She was broken, and I knew that was enough.
"Now you're listening?" — I asked, my voice cold.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and was horrified at what I had become. Big eyes, a monstrous body, and extremely aggressive behavior ready to kill her at any moment. She ran to her boyfriend, hugging him and wiping his blood with her cloak.
My form began to revert, and feeling a burning pain throughout my body, I took a couple of heavy breaths before propping myself against the wall. This enemy is very strong, not only physically but mentally. He would make an excellent ally for me, knowing the hacking abilities this girl possesses.
"Where are the data?" — I said in a threatening tone, causing her to pull a flash drive from her pocket and tremblingly hand it to me.
"They contain all the data about the Miyamoto family bases." I snatched it from her hands, and watching her tend to her grieving lover, I feel a slight regret for beating him to unconsciousness.
"You will work for me, or you will die like everyone else." My threatening tone escaped my lips, and ready for battle, I approached them, prepared to kill them.
"We agree to your request; don't kill us!" — she pleaded, crying at my feet. I lifted my foot and, standing taller, was about to leave, but then I made one last warning before they made a foolish move.
"If I sense any hint of betrayal, you will regret ever being born." With those words, I shattered the glass and broke free from the two disgusting bastards who decided to mock me.
"This is just the beginning; there are still many obstacles ahead to overcome."
A/N-Don't be mad at me, I wanted to write the chapter further, but it didn't turn out very well, I know. I just don't have enough time to sit down and fully write a rich chapter.